Patience has always been a characteristic that I would never use to describe my personality. If anything I would say I am one of the most impatient people I have met so far in my 19 years of life. God has tested this characteristic in me throughout these past three weeks.
Example A: Yesterday we took a prayer walk through the community and passed out fruit to all the people out and about. One of my teammates is extremely gifted in being able to communicate with the people here and it is very encouraging to watch her interact with others. On this particular day though my impatience got the best of me. We were standing at the top of a hill and we were waiting for this teammate that was talking to an older gentleman. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I want this interaction so much. I was hungry to see the work of God through me and into the community here. I allowed negativity to consume me. That night I was talking to my teammate who shed some light on my frustration. He said that maybe God was saving me for something else and prayer walks or evangelism wasn’t what he wanted me to do. So I took his comments with a grain of salt and went to bed that night.
I have been saying this all week everyone, God is so Good.
The next day I had the opportunity to work with a ministry call Transforma. This ministry dedicates its time into helping women in poor communities use their skills to create items they can sell at the market and provide income to their family. They focus on transformation and not just impact. In the afternoon we had the chance to then work with Metro Ministries. This organization focuses on doing bible studies with the youth in the poor communities. For 3 hours I was consumed with a 100 kids its seemed like running around with the biggest smiles on their face. This whole day I couldn’t stop thinking, God is working miracles here. I had expressed how happy I was to my teammate and he looked at me and said, “See Emily, God was just waiting for this moment.”
Jeramiah 29:11 instills this in me, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope
Update: These past three weeks have been life changing for sure. The community has been so uplifting and inviting, even in the darkest of places I find light. The light of God shines so bring here in Costa Rica. We officially only have one more week here before we depart towards home. I have everyone back home in my prayers and in my thoughts always. I also have a cheeseburger craving that will need to be fulfilled once home as well haha. Keep an eye out for my last blog post next week. God Blessings!
